Why Inbound Marketing is a Movement

Why Inbound Marketing is a Movement

HubSpot3 – For The Love of Marketing

I attended the annual Inbound Conference in Boston August 27 – 30. On the morning of the 29th, HubSpot co-founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah unveiled HubSpot3 in an inspiring way. Rather than review the new features of HubSpot3, I prefer to offer you relevant context. After all, that’s what HubSpot3 is all about.

I’ve worked in the software industry for three decades. One of those decades was in Silicon Valley, where I witnessed some amazing company announcements, many of which were full of glitter and Hollywood style hype. Such hyperbole serves to create a memorable, yet momentary high. As I reflect on some of those moments in years past, they were really fun and memorable, but not terribly meaningful.

Those announcements of yesteryear weren’t meaningful to me because they didn’t offer a lasting impact beyond a new product. I mean, they didn’t have an impact on the global economy. They didn’t change an established paradigm.

The HubSpot3 announcement on the other hand is not just a new version of HubSpot’s marketing automation software. During their unveiling on August 29th, CEO Brian Halligan characterized it this way:

“This isn’t just about software. This is about a movement to create marketing that people love….Lovable marketing.”

Co-founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah shared how he has long been ashamed to admit he is in marketing when faced with the “what do you do” question in a social setting. He shared a slide that shows how marketers rank no higher than lawyers and car salesmen in popularity.

Darmesh went on to share that his excitement over HubSpot3 is one of his magical moments in life.

“This moment as it’s happening right now is one of my personal magical moments in life.” said Dharmesh Shah, CTO and co-founder of HubSpot. “Success is making those who believe in you look brilliant.”

In just six years, HubSpot has evolved from a small Cambridge, MA startup to a 400 plus person tech company, well on its way to becoming a mega superstar in the software industry. Halligan predicts with great confidence, that HubSpot will be a company with many billions in annual revenue in the future. At the core of what HubSpot’s marketing software does for a business is capture leads. He shared this mind blowing series of stats:

In 2010 HubSpot customers have generated over 2M leads.

In 2011 HubSpot customers have generated over 6M leads.

In 2012 HubSpot customers have generated over 35M leads.

If you are not familiar with HubSpot as a marketing automation software product, let me start by introducing you to HubSpot the movement for marketing that people love. Don’t believe me?

Consider that as one of 60 plus Certified HubSpot Inbound Marketing Agency Partners, we have access to educational content delivered by HubSpot whose primary purpose is to help us grow our agency regardless of how much HubSpot revenue we do or don’t produce. Our cost for this education is zero. Nada…

Consider that the new HubSpot Academy is an online learning community where marketers from anywhere in the world can consume content in the form of e-books, webinars, videos and more, all for the sole purpose of helping you become a better marketer, regardless of whether or not you are a HubSpot customer. Your cost is zero.

HubSpot’s weekly internet TV show, formerly known as HubSpot TV, now called Marketing Update, features HubSpot employees sharing marketing news of the week.

Skeptics may claim that creating educational content is just good marketing and HubSpot does it for self serving purposes – to gain new customers. That’s partially true. But, hey they practice what they preach! Produce great content that acts as a magnet to your business. It is superb marketing. Are you an inbound marketing magnet in your business resulting in new sales leads?

Aside from the fact that great compelling educational content is exceptional marketing, HubSpot truly views their inbound marketing cause as a movement. Make no mistake, they are a for profit corporation. They understand that the most compelling way to grow their business is to create a strong connection with marketers around the world, and a healthy portion of them will end up signing on to use HubSpot’s marketing automation software. And, why not? Their software rocks!

I truly believe that HubSpot is making a contribution to the global economy starting with the net new jobs they’ve created in their own company. Six years ago, HubSpot started as an idea by Brian and Dharmesh. At the time of this writing they employ more than 400 very smart and high energy people. Considering their impressive growth rate, I’m sure they will one day have thousands of employees. They will be mentioned in the same context as technology employers such as Apple, Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce.

As marketers improve their results through effective inbound marketing strategies, in part due to HubSpot’s free educational content and perhaps with the assistance of HubSpot software and partners such as Find and Convert, those businesses improve their ability to grow and create more jobs themselves in support of their growth.

How many software companies can lay claim to a worldwide movement that creates net new jobs? Currently, approximately 7,000 businesses worldwide use HubSpot. In the years to come, there will likely be another zero at the end of this number.

HubSpot3 is an intelligent marketing automation application that enables marketers to more effectively target relevant prospects and deliver the information they want in relevant context according to how their needs change over time. To learn more about HubSpot3 go here.

Bernie Borges

Bernie Borges is CMO of Vengreso, the leader in digital sales transformation. He's also Host of the award winning Modern Marketing Engine podcast. His book Marketing 2.0, was an early playbook in social media strategy. Bernie is also a trainer and speaker. He has a passion for guiding clients in aligning marketing and sales for accelerated revenue results. Bernie enjoys kayaking with his family in Tampa Bay, going to hockey games and you'll find him at the gym at 6am Monday through Friday, rain or shine.